Hotels exceed Valencian recycling standards

Hotels in the Valencian commuity are ahead of legislation, already recycling almost 500 tonnes of light packaging and cardboard in just 6 months.

An agreement signed by Ecoembes and HOSBEC allows more than 50 establishments to have a specific collection program.

The hotel sector and tourist accommodation of the Valencian Community has beaten the regulation on waste management of the Valencian Community. More than 50 hotels that have been part of HOSBEC for six months have implemented a specific recycling system for light packaging and paper/cardboard through Ecoembes which has allowed them to recover about 490 tonnes of waste at time of press.

The tourism sector is showing its commitment to the sustainability of tourist destinations with recycling policies and adoption of environmental criteria in all areas of their activity, involving all staff and customers to contribute to these recycling systems.

This project began on March 7 2016 after the signing of a collaboration agreement between both entities, and with the aim of raising awareness of HOSBEC’s establishments and their role in the care of the environment through the proper management of waste from plastic containers, cans and briks (yellow container) and carton and paper containers (blue container).

The initiative seeks not only that the companies associated with HOSBEC are involved in recycling, but also to serve as a loudspeaker to raise awareness among everyone who passes through their establishments – and to encourage everyone to participate their own small effort to conserve the environment.

As a result of this agreement, approximately 300 containers have been distributed in the 50 HOSBEC associated establishments and the waste collection is being carried out through a tailor made service facilitated by Iniciativas Ecológicas y Reciclamas. Thanks to the voluntary commitment of these 50 establishments, around 490 tonnes of light packaging and paper/cardboard waste have already been recovered.

This initiative has several advantages, including ensuring that participating hotels are complying with legislation on waste management, with documentation and actual quantification of waste generation. For this, production estimates are made in each delivery that are added to final data referring to the contributions made by the companies associated with HOSBEC.

It also has the advantage that the participating establishments will be able to confirm to sectoral quality management standards such as Standard UNE 182001 “Standard Q”, Requirements of Good Practices Manuals in SICTED, Travellife requirements, and ISO 14001 environmental management standards, among others.

The first results

An evaluation of the first 6 months of the project implementation has been carried out and the first accreditations and certificates have been delivered to the participating hotels. In an event held in Invattur, HOSBEC wanted to distinguish the establishments most committed to the care of the environment through recycling, by holding the event with Ángel Hervella Touchard, Director of Local and Autonomic Management of Ecoembes, and the General Secretary Of HOSBEC Nuria Montes.

Ecoembes

Ecoembes is a non-profit organization that manages the recovery and recycling of plastic containers, cans and briks (yellow container) and carton and paper containers (blue container) throughout Spain. In order to carry out these tasks in Benidorm and the Costa Blanca, it has the support of the companies Iniciativas Ecológicas y de Reciclamás, which are responsible for the collection, quantification and transport of waste.

In 2015, more than 1.3 million tons of light packaging and carton and paper packaging were recycled throughout the country, achieving a recycling rate of 74.8%. Thanks to this percentage, the emission of 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere was avoided, equivalent to removing 25.8% of vehicles registered in the city of Madrid. The reduction of polluting gases has not been the only benefit that has been achieved at the environmental level. In the course of 2015, consumption of 4.6 million MWh has also been avoided, equivalent to the annual energy expenditure of 47.5% of smartphones in Spain and 24.8 million cubic meters of water. The amount of water saved during 2015 is equivalent to the showers of all citizens of Madrid for a month.

These are the establishments that have participated in the recycling program. In blue are those that are located in different populations of the Costa Blanca, while in gray are the establishments in Benidorm. Click on the image to enlarge.

Elle, along with Alan, is the owner of Spain Buddy and the busy web design business - Gandy-Draper. Born a "Norverner", she then spent most of her life "Dann Saff" before moving to Spain in 2006. Elle's loves are Alan, the internet, their three bouncing dogs, good food, and dry white wine - although not necessarily in that order.
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